One-to-One Computer Help, in Your Own Home

Some things are easier learned with somebody sitting next to you. No class to keep up with, nobody else in the room, and we work on whatever is actually bothering you — not a syllabus.

Sessions happen at your kitchen table, on your own computer, with your own printer and your own Wi-Fi. That matters, because the thing that goes wrong at home usually doesn’t go wrong anywhere else.

$85 per hour, two-hour minimum. Across Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Parrish, Sarasota and Venice.

What people usually ask for

“I just bought a new laptop and I’m scared of it”

Setting it up properly from the start — accounts, email, printer, browser, the settings that make it readable — and moving everything across from the old one without losing anything.

“My photos are all trapped on my phone”

Getting them off, getting them organised, and getting them backed up so they survive the phone. Usually the most emotional two hours anybody books.

“Email has stopped making sense”

Mail that won’t send, a mailbox with 14,000 unread messages, attachments that won’t open, or an account you’ve been locked out of.

“I think I clicked something I shouldn’t have”

Checking whether anything actually happened, cleaning it up if it did, and changing what needs changing. No lecture.

“The Wi-Fi drops in the back bedroom”

Finding out why, and fixing it — which is sometimes a setting and sometimes a position, and only occasionally something you need to buy.

“Can you just show me how to do it myself?”

Yes. Plenty of sessions are simply teaching, at whatever pace suits, with as much repetition as you want. Write it all down — that’s encouraged.

How it works

1. You call, message or email and describe roughly what’s going on. No technical vocabulary needed.
2. We agree a time and how long it’s likely to take. Two hours is the minimum and most first visits are two or three.
3. We work through it together at your place, on your equipment.
4. You get a plain-English summary of what was done and anything worth keeping an eye on.

Some things can be handled remotely instead, with your permission and you watching the whole time — usually quicker and it avoids waiting for a visit.

What it costs

$85 per hour, two-hour minimum — so a first visit starts at $170. Billed by the hour after that, so a session that runs to two and a half hours is charged as two and a half.

If you’d rather not think about it each time, prepaid blocks of hours are available at a lower rate — useful if you’d like someone to call on regularly rather than only when something breaks. Ask when you get in touch.

Parts, hardware and any software you choose to buy are separate and always agreed with you first. Nothing gets bought on your behalf without you saying yes.

Who this is for

Anyone who wants to be shown rather than talked over. It suits people who’ve moved to the area and no longer have someone nearby to ask, people who are perfectly capable but have one specific thing that has never worked properly, and people who’d simply rather learn without an audience.

If you’d rather learn alongside other people — and pay less per hour — the Windows Basics class covers the same ground in a group of six.

BRATechSystems carries $1,000,000 general liability and $1,000,000 technology errors and omissions insurance through The Hartford. A certificate of insurance is available on request.

Common Questions

How much is it?

$85 per hour with a two-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $170. Time beyond that is billed by the hour.

Where do you cover?

Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, Parrish, Sarasota and Venice. Ask if you’re just outside that.

Do you come to my house?

Yes — that’s the normal way these run, because most problems only happen on your own equipment and your own network. Some things can be done remotely instead if you’d prefer, with you watching throughout.

What if you can’t fix it?

You’ll be told that plainly, along with what your options are. If something needs a specialist — a failed drive needing recovery, for instance — you’ll be pointed to one rather than charged to keep trying.

Can you teach rather than just fix?

Yes, and many sessions are exactly that. Go as slowly as you like, ask the same question three times, and write everything down.

Do I have to buy anything?

No. Nothing is bought on your behalf without your agreement, and you’ll be told when the honest answer is that nothing needs replacing.